Canadian Style: Mission For Change
by yellow blaze
Summary: HumanAU: Matthew is in his freshman year of high school and his opinion of school has only been lower one other time. Trying to keep your head up to find something worth coming to school for is hard when the only person who sees you is your twin. But maybe the school's resident fight-causer noticed him after all.
1. Noticed for the first time

To anyone who may be reading this and may find it familiar/similar to another story on this site:

This is a re-write of a set of stories that I had put up a few years ago. But in the past few years, my writing style has changed, and those stories were so full of grammar/continuity issues, so I am opting to rewrite them out. Once I have them started, I will be more than likely removing the old ones.

* * *

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Matthew sat in the very back corner seat of the classroom, waiting for the teacher to finish what they were talking about. _Soon as I get an opportunity, I'll put my hand up…_ Matthew squinted. The teacher had said something that hadn't made much sense to the blonde, so he wanted to make sure he had copied the notes down right. Made it easier to study later if he actually understood his own writing.

"Now, are there any questions so far?"

 _Ah. Now's my chance._ Matthew raised his hand as the teacher looked around the room.

"No questions?"

"…" Matthew looked up at his hand and slowly lowered it again. _Right. Can't ask questions when I'm invisible, can I?_ He looked down at his notebook, frowning at the words that he didn't understand.

"Moving on then…"

 _Why do I bother?_ Matthew slumped down across his desk. _Nobody would even notice if I just fell asleep, would they?_ He stared sullenly at the blackboard as she started going over the next part of the lesson. _I really wish people would notice me… why am I invisible anyway?_

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* * *

He hugged his textbooks to his chest as he made his way down the hall. Matthew tried to walk as close to the lockers as possible, attempting to avoid being run into by his classmates trying to get to their next class. _I could just vanish completely and nobody would notice._ Matthew let out a heavy sigh. Why did it have to be like this all the time? He just couldn't figure out why he was so hard for people to notice.

"What the hell are you staring at?!"

Matthew blinked and raised his head, glancing around the hallway in confusion. _I wonder who that was?_ He tilted his head, spotting a tanned male by the opposite row of lockers, currently yelling at someone who had been just passing by.

"What, you've never seen someone come in late before?!"

 _I wonder if he's in a bad mood._ Matthew looked around him and found the other students rapidly clearing the area, hurrying to get of the way before they started getting yelled at. _At least he won't notice me. I can just take my time going by._ Matthew nodded to himself and kept walking at his slow pace. At least that was one good thing about nobody noticing him. The teachers didn't notice if he was late.

" _Shove off!_ "

Matthew jumped when the voice took a dangerous tone and looked back over his shoulder, watching the other student take off down the hall. _Maybe something happened…_

The tanned male slammed the locker door shut and glared after the other student who had run away, "Damned idiots. Can't mind their own business."

Matthew continued staring at him, he wasn't meaning to be rude, but the thought just kept going through his head. _Why is he so mad?_

The male turned back towards Matthew and glared at him, "What the hell is your problem now?"

Matthew blinked a few times. _Huh?_ He looked around him, but nobody else was around in the hallway. "…Are you talking to me?" The blonde looked back at the other male in confusion.

"I don't see anyone else around to be staring at me!" The male snapped.

"… I guess there's not." Matthew continued shuffling down the hallway again, leaving the other student staring after him in confusion. _That was a first. Somebody actually noticed me._ Of course, it had to be someone in a bad mood, and by the sounds of it, probably looking for a fight, but oh well. _He won't remember me if he sees me later in the day anyway, so I'm safe._

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* * *

 _…He's in my class._ Matthew kept his gaze on the markerboard, only looking down at his notebook to make sure he was copying the notes down correctly, trying to ignore that the male from earlier kept looking in his direction. _Why does he keep staring at me?_ _I don't want to get in a fight!_ He tapped his pencil on the notebook.

Oh. He had been so busy worrying about the possibility of getting into a fight, that the teacher had erased the last line he had been trying to write down. "Ah." Matthew hastily raised his hand, hoping to ask what the end of the sentence had been.

"Before I continue, I want all of you to know now, that this _will_ be on the test tomorrow! So make sure you're paying attention! Does anyone have any questions before I continue?" The teacher looked around the classroom.

Matthew looked up at his hand again as the teacher shrugged and looked back at the markerboard behind him, "… I don't even know why I tried."

"Hey!"

Matthew nearly jumped out of his seat when the loud voice from earlier suddenly started yelling at the teacher at the front of the room, "Ehhhh… that was scary."

"W-what? Did you have a question, Mr. Martinez?" The teacher had also jumped, and looked back at the male in confusion.

"Are you blind?" The male snapped, before pointing at Matthew, "He had his hand up!"

Matthew's face turned red as the teacher looked to his corner of the room, "Uhm…"

"Huh? Ivan, did you have a question?"

 _I don't know if I'm relieved that he thought it was the student in front of me or…_ Matthew slowly sunk in his seat at the annoyed expression on the yeller's face. _Maybe I should just tell him not to bother._

"Not me." Ivan blinked at the teacher, "I had no questions."

"Hm? Then who was it?" The teacher looked around the room.

"Ehhh… don't worry about it." Matthew waved a hand in a panic to the male who was losing his temper again, "The teachers usually don't see me."

The look he got was priceless. Matthew shrugged off-handishly, and as if to prove his point, the teacher went right back to the lecture again. He blinked when the other student held up a note on paper, glaring at him in annoyance.

 ** _What, he can't see you or hear you?_**

"Evidently not." Matthew answered flatly, "Because if you didn't notice: nobody's hearing me now, except you."

The other student glanced around him, but everybody was focused on the board, "What the hell."

"I'm used to it." Matthew tossed his pen down on top of his notebook, "I shouldn't even bother taking notes. I'm not going to understand this later anyway."

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* * *

"How the hell is that even possible?"

Matthew glanced at the student walking to his left, "I don't know. It just is. It's why I didn't realize you were talking to me earlier, sorry. Most people don't seem to notice me."

"That's just messed up."

"That's how it's always been." Matthew rubbed the back of his head uncertainly, "I mean, my brother notices me and talks to me, but he's one of the only ones who do."

"Would you watch where you're going?!"

Matthew sighed as the male yelled at someone else who had bumped into him.

"Sorry, Cruz, didn't even realize I'd run into you!"

"You didn't run into _me_ , you moron!" Cruz snapped, "You ran into him!"

"He can't see me…" Matthew whispered.

"Sorry, Alfred!"

Matthew hung his head and let out a long sigh, "I'm not Alfred…"

"… Who the hell is Alfred?" Cruz stared at him in confusion.

"My brother." Matthew hugged his books tighter, "Never fails. Either I'm invisible, or I'm Alfred."

Cruz raised an eyebrow at him, "And you live like this? How?"

"I'm used to it…" Matthew continued trudging down the hallway, ignoring the bumps from people running by. _I'll never understand why everybody has to be in such a hurry to get to their next class though… it's not like they're going to be missing anything._

Cruz scowled, "Just because you're used to something doesn't make it right. They can't be bothered to get their heads out of their own world to even notice you?"

Matthew smiled slightly, "I guess not. But, it does have some good things about it. I can sleep in class without getting yelled at… and I can come in to class late without the teacher noticing."

Cruz stared at Matthew in disbelief, "Seriously? That's a hell of a trade-off though."

"Yeah… too bad I can't have a bit of both… I don't mind being able to sleep during class, and being able to come in late means I don't have to rush in the hallway but…" Matthew looked around them, "… I just feel out of place. Like I'm looking in a window."

Cruz grumbled something under his breath, and it sounded like he was cursing at students for not noticing Matthew, much to the blonde's surprise.

 _I don't think_ _ **he**_ _noticed me before this morning!_ Matthew tilted his head, "Why were you late this morning anyway? Did you sleep through your alarm clock?"

"Don't have one." Cruz said flatly, "I just set the alarm on my phone, but it doesn't always go off." He rolled his eyes, "One of the many troubles of having a cheap phone."

"Your parents don't make sure you're up?" Matthew asked in surprise. Normally his would make sure he and his brother were getting out of bed before they went off to work.

"…" Cruz avoided Matthew's gaze for a minute as they continued walking through the hallway. At least it was emptying out for the most part, so Matthew didn't have to worry about getting run into.

 _Maybe that's a bad subject._ Matthew bit his lip when Cruz didn't answer.

"They're not home." Cruz answered finally, "They're out of town on a business trip."

"Eh… both of them?" Matthew looked at him in surprise, "Who are you staying with then?"

"Me, myself, and I." Cruz smirked, "Same as it's always been."

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Matthew squeaked in dismay, "M-minors are supposed to have an adult staying with them!"

"It's not like anyone cares." Cruz shrugged, "My parents and I aren't close, so them being gone doesn't bother me in the least."

 _… if it doesn't bother you, then why didn't you answer?_ Matthew frowned slightly, but arriving at the next classroom took the thoughts out of his head, "Oh. History time."

"Terrific." Cruz shoved open the door.

 _… Eh. Do we have this class together, too?_ Matthew blinked in surprise, wandering in behind him. _I wonder why I didn't notice him in these last two classes before._

"Mr. Martinez, try not to be late to my class." The teacher sighed heavily, "Honestly!"

Cruz stared at the teacher in disbelief, before looking over his shoulder at Matthew, who just waved at Cruz with a smile on his face, "Invisible, remember?"

"Even still." Cruz scowled, "We came in at the same time."

"Anytime you want to take your seat." The teacher sounded rather annoyed, but continued writing on the board.

"Any time you want to get a pair of _glasses_." Cruz snapped at the teacher on his way by.

"Excuse me?" The teacher gaped at him as Matthew made his way back to his own seat. Back in the corner as usual.

Cruz didn't bother to answer the teacher and just sat down at his desk, tapping the surface in annoyance. How could anyone be so oblivious? Sure Matthew had just come in right behind him, and Cruz was taller, but even still! The teacher hadn't seen Matthew walk back to his desk at all? How was that even possible? _… Did I even notice him before this morning?_

Matthew tapped his pencil on the top of his desk, watching as the teacher gave up trying to talk to Cruz, and continued with what she had been discussing. _Being invisible does get annoying though. It's like I'm staring in a window watching everyone else live their lives, and I'm stuck in one place, because nobody ever sees me._

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* * *

Matthew picked a table in the far corner of the cafeteria to sit at, quietly setting his tray down before taking a seat in front of it. He stirred his soup, watching the other students mill about the room. Lunch hour was definitely the time when he felt the loneliest. Everybody else was sitting and talking with friends, and it seemed as soon as he sat down at a table, that table became as non-existent as he was. _It must be nice to have friends to talk to._ He was wondering how long it would take Cruz to forget about him. They had never talked to each other before today, so why would it be any different from anyone else?

He could remember having friends in middle school, back in sixth grade… or maybe it had actually been fifth grade? Matthew tilted his head. _I don't really remember. I think my last actual friend was… Arthur. And that was because he was friends with Alfred._ Matthew frowned into the bowl of soup in front of him. Arthur didn't talk to him anymore either, but then again, the other blonde never even spoke to Alfred anymore. _I wonder what happened… they were such close friends one year… and the next… they weren't. I wonder if it was a fight?_

"Screw it." Cruz sat down across from Matthew, jerking the blonde from his thoughts.

"Eh?" Matthew blinked at him in confusion.

"Nothing. I was just cursing at someone else, not you." Cruz shook his head and untwisted the cap off a bottle of soda.

"…You're not eating?" Matthew asked.

"Forgot to bring money for it. Had enough change for a soda." Cruz shrugged.

Matthew looked down at the soup and sandwich on his tray. He offered the sandwich out to Cruz, who stared at him with a blank expression, "I can usually only eat one or the other anyway."

Cruz didn't look like he believed the blonde, but he took the offered sandwich anyway, "What were you thinking about before? You looked lost in thought."

"Oh, I was just trying to remember something." Matthew made a face, "Someone I used to call a friend back in middle school… or maybe it was elementary."

"Not friends anymore?" Cruz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No… just out of the blue… he stopped talking to both Alfred and myself." Matthew continued stirring his soup, "I wonder why… I mean, he was more Alfred's friend than mine anyway, but we'd all been friends since kindergarten…"

"…Then how was he more of a friend to your brother?" Cruz took a bite of the sandwich and made a face before inspecting the sandwich carefully (for what, Matthew had no clue).

"Uhm… how do I say it?" Matthew tilted his head, "I suppose they just were closer? Arthur had moved just moved here before we all started kindergarten, and I guess Alfred kept him from getting made fun of by our other classmates."

Cruz stared at Matthew blankly, "Why the hell would they make fun of him?"

"Accent I guess. He was from Ireland or something originally. Maybe it was Scotland. Somewhere over there." Matthew sighed, "I don't remember anymore. But you know how kids are: anybody strange or different gets teased."

Cruz made a face, and took another bite of the sandwich rather than answering Matthew's statement.

"But Alfred is always one for helping other people, even then." Matthew smiled, "He always wants to be a hero!"

"… That idiot always proclaiming he's a hero is your brother?" Cruz asked, nearly choking on his sandwich, "And people confuse you for _him_?"

 _Oh. I guess he knows Alfred then._ Matthew sighed and hung his head, "He could be a bit quieter, I'll admit that much. But he really does like helping people…"

"He's an _idiot_. And an annoying one at that." Cruz scowled, "He needs to be a _lot_ quieter!"

 _I suppose there's either tolerance of Alfred or no tolerance at all. Not really a middle ground._ Matthew was used to his brother's antics however, and only shook his head with a smile, "He doesn't mean anything by it."

"Ugh." Cruz glowered at the remaining part of the sandwich, "By the way…"

"Hm?" Matthew blinked at him in confusion.

"Saying you're only hungry enough to eat one or the other only applies if you actually eat one of them." Cruz pointed at the soup that Matthew had been stirring.

"…Oh." Matthew looked down at the bowl, "I guess that would help."

"Unless you plan on starving until dinner." Cruz rolled his eyes, "And that might be a while off."

 _And that's only if I feel like eating supper._ Matthew took a small sip of the soup off his spoon. At least it had cooled off while they had been talking.

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* * *

Sadly, Matthew did not have gym with Cruz. _I wonder if that means he'll forget about me after this class? Usually this is about the amount of time needed for most people._ Matthew stretched both arms above his head, mimicking the teacher's exercises. He was amazed that Cruz had been talking to him during lunch. _I wonder why he sat with me anyway… doesn't he have friends during that lunch?_

Matthew held up one leg behind him, still lost in thought while the teacher was counting down the seconds for holding their current pose. _Then again… he's been talking to me most of the morning and I haven't seen anyone else even say hello to him. Maybe they're scared of him?_

"All right! Now that we got the warm-up exercises in, let's see a good game of football!"

Matthew let out a long sigh. Of course. It _had_ to be football. _Why does it always have to be contact sports…? Why can't we play baseball or something?_

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* * *

The blonde trudged much slower through the hallway, still trying to brush the dirt off his glasses as he went. _Stupid contact sports. Stupid shove-the-person's-face-into-the-dirt-contact-sports…_ He held his glasses out at arm's length in front of him and frowned. A few more scratches on the lenses. _Figures._ Matthew sighed and put them back on, ignoring the person who had just run into him and kept going. _I wonder if anyone would notice if I just left school…_

 _Would anyone notice if I didn't come back?_

Matthew shook his head hastily. _I'm not retreating to_ _ **that**_ _mindset again!_ He hugged himself tightly and quickened his pace through the hallway, trying to make it to his next class. Hopefully listening to a teacher would put the thoughts out of his head. He could still hear his parents… and Alfred… after they had found him the first time. _Ugh… their screaming is a constant nightmare._ Matthew paused and just leaned against the locker he was next to.

But he had survived. Now here it was, two years later, and he was right back to where he had started. Matthew looked around the hallway, watching everybody move past him. _They don't know… they don't know what it feels like… Alfred's constantly getting attention from everybody… he's good at sports… he's popular…_ Matthew slowly sunk to the floor and stared at the lockers across from him. _I wonder if anyone besides them would notice…_

"Hey."

A shoe kicked his leg, and Matthew glanced up at the speaker, slightly surprised to find himself looking up at Cruz, "Oh hello."

"What are you doing on the floor?" Cruz asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"… Thinking." Matthew answered.

"Looked more like spacing out." Cruz offered a hand to him, "You going to your next class?"

"Haven't decided yet." Matthew answered truthfully, but took the hand to pull himself up off the floor again, "I might just leave."

Cruz leaned forward, looking at the blonde's face, "Was gym class that bad? I don't think I'll go if it was."

"Oh it's perfectly fine if you like football." Matthew sighed, "But I don't."

"I don't mind it. Gives me an excuse to hit people without having to be forced to apologize." Cruz grinned before trying to brush some dirt off of Matthew's red sweater.

"Perfect sport for you then. Not so much for me." Matthew looked over his shoulder as the bell rang, trying to decide if he should head for class or not, "… I really don't feel like going to class again. Not like the teachers will notice if I just head home."

"Nobody there?" Cruz asked.

"No. Mom and dad won't be home from work until after five." Matthew shrugged, "So no one will even know I'm not here." He shuffled past Cruz in the direction of the doors, "Have fun in gym."

"Yeah… thanks." Cruz muttered.

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* * *

I like this first chapter a lot more. C:


	2. Just try one more time

Matthew stared at his older brother, "I still don't see how you managed to get detention in the first place."

Alfred puffed out his cheeks indignantly, "Because some jerk decided to start a fight for no reason! I totally kicked his butt though!"

The twins walked to school, with Matthew shaking his head in disbelief at the older one. "Unbelievable…"

"What?" Alfred tilted his head, "Come on, man, detention isn't that hard to believe!"

"You always manage to get yourself out of trouble any other time!"

"Yeah well…" Alfred rubbed the back of his head, "The principal must have been in a bad mood or something. He gave us all detention."

Matthew turned his head and stared at Alfred, "'All'?"

"Yeah, me, the guy I hit, and the other guy." Alfred grinned, "The third guy totally threw a textbook at him, it was amazing!"

 _What kind of fight was this?!_ Matthew buried his face in his hands and shook his head back and forth. _I hope this doesn't get_ _ **me**_ _into a fight today!_

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* * *

"Morning."

Matthew looked up from his locker to find Cruz standing next to him, "Eh…. Hello. You're on time today."

"For once." Cruz leaned against the locker next to Matthew's, ignoring the looks of people walking by them, "Took the alarm clock from my parents' room."

 _Aren't they going to get mad?_ Matthew shut his locker door. Admittedly, he was more surprised that Cruz still remembered him. "What's your first class anyway?"

"Math." Cruz rolled his eyes, "It's not like I was missing anything of vast importance while I was sleeping in all those times."

"I think the teacher would take offense to that." Matthew let out a quiet laugh and walked alongside him towards the first class.

"Hell if I care." Cruz smirked, but walked Matthew to his first class, "Have fun."

"Yeah. Another day of invisibility." Matthew waved Cruz off and trudged into the classroom, sliding past a group of students that were all talking in loud voices about what they had been doing the night before. _Do you guys have to take up the entire aisle?_

He sat in his seat in the back of the room, brushing some pieces of paper off the desk. _I wonder what somebody tore up._ If it hadn't been torn in such small pieces, he'd be tempted to use his class period putting the note back together again just to read it. _Not like anyone would notice._ Matthew glanced to his left by chance, and spotted a male glaring at him. _… why am I always being glared at by somebody?_ _First Cruz, now this guy._

"What?" Matthew asked flatly.

"Oh, you _know_ what! My parents got called to the school yesterday because of you!"

 _This must be the guy that Alfred got in a fight with._ Matthew sighed and looked back to the board, "I had nothing to do with that, wrong person."

" _That's_ the excuse you're going with? I'm going to punch your lights out, man!"

 _Terrific._ Matthew whimpered inwardly. _Having Cruz in this class would be_ _ **really**_ _nice._ Matthew looked down at his notebook. _I wonder if anyone would notice if I hit the guy first…_ _or maybe I could just leave…_ A textbook flew past his face missing him only by a few inches. "Ah!"

"What is going on back there?!"

Matthew looked over at the student who had flung the book, "What was that for?"

"James! Sit down this instant! I will not tolerate any book throwing in my classroom!"

 _Invisibility strikes again._ Matthew folded his hands on top of his desk and smiled cheerfully at the male who was glaring daggers at him. "And don't think I'm passing it back to you either."

"You just wait until after class…" James hissed to him.

 _I wonder if I can set a speeding record to my next class._ Matthew only looked back to the board as the teacher continued with the lesson. _I can probably make it out the door before anyone else gets up._

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* * *

Not wanting to press his luck, Matthew scrambled out the door as soon as the bell rang, and made a run for it down the hallway, trying to put as much distance between him and the other student as possible. _The more doorways I pass the more students in between him and me!_

He ducked around a group of students that were blocking half the hallway and hurried along, glancing over his shoulder now and then to make sure the other one wasn't right behind him. _I did not want to do this much running outside of gym class._ Matthew sighed and paused, trying to take a few deep breaths. He'd made it most of the way to his second class at least.

"Hey!"

Matthew jumped and almost took off running again, but a sharp yank found him looking at Cruz once again, "Eh. Oh. It's you." He let out a giant sigh of relief, "Don't scare me like that."

"Who the hell were you running from?" Cruz stared at him in disbelief, shooting a glare at someone who was going by while giving them both a weird stare, "Seriously, find something else to stare at!"

"Someone who had me confused for Alfred again." Matthew waved it off, "I think I lost him though."

"… what? Did he get in a fight or something yesterday?" Cruz scowled.

"Uh… by the sounds of it. I only got minor details this morning from Alfred, but he had to serve detention apparently." Matthew peeked around Cruz, but didn't see the other student. _Maybe I'll be safe now. I don't think I have another class with him._

Cruz frowned, but pushed Matthew in the direction of their next class, "I don't mind having to kick someone's hide, but they better really deserve it, or it's waiting until after school."

"… Never took you for being someone to follow school rules." Matthew raised an eyebrow at him.

"It has nothing to do with following rules." Cruz said flatly, "However… it has a _lot_ to do with not wanting to be expelled. Got my last warning already."

"Already?!" Matthew squeaked, "We're only halfway through our first year!"

"Don't remind me." Cruz rolled his eyes, "I got a long way to go."

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* * *

Matthew tapped his pencil on his desk, trying to keep up with the notes from the teacher. _The fewer questions I have, the better. Not like it matters if I have a question, but I suppose I could always ask Cruz to ask them for me. …But I don't want him getting strange looks…_ Matthew looked over to Cruz and found the male was staring up at the ceiling rather than paying attention. _… Yeah. He doesn't look the type to be asking questions._

"This part _will_ be on the test tomorrow, so make sure you're copying this down!"

"Eh." Matthew looked back at the board, "… crap. Of course there's a test tomorrow." _What is it with teachers and giving tests on Fridays? I guess it's so we don't have homework on the weekend but… I'd rather have homework… I hate tests._

"And I will give you a warning now… there may be an assembly next Monday morning." The teacher paused and looked out at the classroom.

Cruz raised an eyebrow and looked back at the teacher, "Since when do we get a warning about an assembly?"

"Well…" The teacher placed the marker down on the tray, "This school, as I'm sure most of you know, does not have a good reputation with our school board. They've been doing investigations the last couple months, had testing done among students… and they've decided to replace our current principal with someone else."

"Hallelujah." Cruz looked back to the ceiling, "A reprieve."

 _I don't think that means your record is going to go away._ Matthew sighed.

"This principal was chosen by our school board as someone who can _hopefully_ turn the attitudes around of the student body. I'm sure some of you can agree that there are people here who don't have the best attitude towards school."

"I'm more curious as to who the people are that have a _good_ attitude towards this school." Cruz muttered under his breath, earning a few laughs from the students around him.

"There may be policies changing, and not everyone will embrace change at first. I ask for all of you to keep an open mind during this time."

"What's the point of us taking a test if the policies are changing?!" Matthew cried, "How is anyone supposed to focus on studying for a test, when everything might get changed next week?!"

Cruz turned his head to look at Matthew, rather amused, but moreso at the fact that the teacher had actually _heard_ him this time.

"Hm…" The teacher frowned, "You may have a point there, Mr. Williams."

"He remembered my name." Matthew whispered, "That's a first."

"Who?" Ivan, sitting in front of him, glanced around in confusion.

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* * *

"At least he remembered you." Cruz commented, walking alongside Matthew towards their third class.

"Yeah. That was nice." Matthew agreed quietly, "Though he probably won't remember it tomorrow."

Cruz scoffed, "You have a lot of faith in other people."

"History repeats itself." Matthew said flatly. "It always has, and always will."

Cruz gave the blonde a light slap on the back of his head, "Have a little more faith than that."

Matthew stuck his tongue out at the other male, "What? Do you have _faith_ that this new principal is going to be able to turn everything around then?"

"Not going that far." Cruz rolled his eyes, "Any new principal they bring in is doomed. Whoever the guy is: he's inheriting a mess. We got teachers who don't care if the student is falling behind, and we got students who don't care that they're failing. What kind of miracle could the guy pull off that would get everybody here to change their minds?"

"Don't forget the students who have no empathy towards other people." Matthew commented dryly.

"Right, them, too. The guy is doomed." Cruz shook his head, "He's doomed before he even takes the office. I wish him the utmost of luck, but I guarantee you, when the time comes for the school board comes back around here again, he will be out of a job."

"I wonder what changes would have to take place for our school to get a better score anyway… I guess our grades would have to come up…" Matthew tilted his head.

"Yeah… the average test score would have to come up, and probably the student absentee ratio versus the student attendance." Cruz shrugged, "But seriously, who's going to try? What _idiot_ would be dumb enough to even try?"

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* * *

 **Fifth Bell**

Matthew made a face as the gym teacher announced another game of football to the class. And _of course_ the student he'd been trying to avoid was standing across from him on the opposite team. _I am doomed._ He bit his lip as the football went flying through the air. He'd just have to avoid holding it. There's no way he would get tackled if he wasn't holding the accursed thing. Matthew jogged away from the landing zone of the football, trying to stay as far back from the opposing line as possible.

"Come on, you sissies! This is football, not dodgeball! Get in there!"

 _Oh shut up._ Matthew cried inwardly. _Some of us like being able to breathe without the taste of mud in our mouths!_

"You just _wait_ , Jones!"

"How many times do I have to tell you: I'm not Alfred!" Matthew cried, barely avoiding the other male's attempt at a tackle, "And I'm not even holding the football! Go tackle the person who is!"

"You think I care about this crummy sport?!"

 _Well that's one thing we have in common._ Matthew sighed and ran around the other players, trying to outrun the person chasing him. _I wonder how long it'll be before the teacher yells at the both of us for not playing the game._ He shot a glance over at the coach, but saw the teacher was more absorbed in yelling at the player who was holding the football. _I'm in trouble._

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* * *

Matthew leaned over the bathroom sink, holding a wet paper towel to the bridge of his nose, trying to clean some off the mud, and blood, off his face. _I hate gym class. I hate it._ He shook his head back and forth, running his other hand through his hair, watching more dirt flecks fall out. _Ugh._ Setting the wet paper towel down, he picked up his glasses and tried to gently place them back on, but the pain from the cut on his nose made him decide that wasn't a good idea.

 _What am I supposed to do? Just go the rest of the day without my glasses on?_ Matthew frowned and squinted at his reflection in the mirror. He could still see some dirt smeared across the rest of his face from where he had been tackled into a mud puddle. _I hope that fight Alfred got into was worth it. Because it certainly wasn't to me._

He picked up the wet towel again and continued scrubbing at the rest of his face, trying to get the rest of the dirt off. _Why does this keep happening anyway?_ Matthew frowned, staring into the mirror. "I don't look like Alfred… so why is it no one can remember who I am?" He chucked the towel into the trash can and looked down at the glasses in his hand.

 _Would anyone besides them notice?_

Matthew set the glasses down on the edge of the sink and shoved himself away from it, pacing in a small circle in front of the mirrors. "Don't go back." He held both hands over his ears, whispering to himself. _Cruz noticed. He's still talking to me._

 _But for how long?_

Matthew hit his head against the bathroom wall, gritting his teeth. _Not worth it. It's not worth it. Just try again. Try… one more time._ Matthew nodded to himself and stalked out of the bathroom. _Try speaking up… just one more time._

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* * *

 **After School Hours**

"Matthew."

The blonde peered around his locker door, squinting at the blurry outline of the person standing next to him. He didn't really have to. There was only one person who would be talking to him right now. "Hello."

"Thought these were yours." Cruz held out the glasses that Matthew had left in the bathroom.

"Oh." Matthew took the offered glasses and gingerly placed them back on. The pain wasn't _as_ bad now, "Thank you."

"Why were they in the bathroom anyway?" Cruz tilted his head, using one hand to lift up the blonde's bangs out of his face, "Or does it have to do with the cut on your face?"

Matthew swatted the male's hand away, "I tripped and they cut my nose." He huffed and shut his locker door. "I just forgot them after throwing the towel away."

"Uh-huh." Cruz didn't look, or sound, like he believed him. "Gym class again, I assume?"

Matthew hung his head and let out a large sigh, "I hate football…"

"Yeah, you said that." Cruz patted the blonde on the back, "You should try and learn some self-defense. At least then you'd be able to knock them down before they hit you."

"Ehhh…" Matthew shot Cruz a doubtful look, "I don't think that would work. The teacher won't think twice about someone being tackled, but I think he'd second-guess someone getting hit."

"Builds character." Cruz smirked at the blonde.

"The wrong kind!" Matthew protested, "I can't go through high school with people thinking I like getting into fights! I'm not a fighter!"

"You're also not intimidating in the least." Cruz laughed, "Maybe we should think of something else."

"I should just skip gym class." Matthew muttered, "That'd be a lot simpler."

"Not when a teacher catches you. You'll be in detention, or you'll be suspended."

"I'd rather be suspended than get shoved in the mud again!" Matthew snapped, "I'm getting really tired of feeling like the football that is supposed to be getting tossed around!"

"I can threaten someone for you." Cruz offered, "Teachers expect it from me!"

"You have no idea how tempting that offer is." Matthew hung his head again, "That would make things so much easier."

Cruz grinned and put his arm around Matthew's shoulders, "You can always sleep on it and let me know in the morning!"

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* * *

Thanks for reading~


	3. A Sad Response

Moving on.

* * *

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.

 **Timeskip from Thursday to Monday**

Matthew leaned forward at his desk, stretching his arms out across it. First bell had been effectively cancelled for the day, leaving those who were in class to sit and wait for the assembly to be called in the auditorium. He glanced around the classroom, watching other students mingle in groups, talking excitedly about whatever changes might be taking place. Matthew was just hoping it would be a _brief_ assembly. _Sitting in a dark auditorium for a long period of time is not my idea of fun. More like my idea of a nap._ On the other hand, if he slept through it, he wouldn't be bored either. _It can't possibly be anything that life-changing._

.

.

The auditorium was too loud to hear much of anything, in fact, Matthew doubted he could even hear himself if he were to try talking out loud. The blonde had plunked himself down in one of the rows close to the front, and was trying to block out the majority of the noise by placing his hands over his ears. It had yet to work.

"Morning."

Matthew opened one eye as Cruz edged past him to sit in the empty seat beside him, "How did you even find me in here?"

"Wasn't easy, I'll give it that. Crowded as hell. Can't they do this in smaller groups at separate times during the day?" Cruz made a face and glanced around the auditorium, or what little they could see of it from where they were sitting.

 _He was actually looking for me?_ Matthew blinked in surprise. "… Eh… that would make more sense. And it'd be easier to get everyone's attention."

"Good luck to the speaker who has to try it." Cruz rolled his eyes and looked towards the stage, though the speaker seemed to be distracted in talking to someone else.

Matthew tilted his head, "I wonder if it's going to be our new principal…? Or maybe it's going to be two speakers? One to introduce the principal and _then_ the new person?"

"That sounds a little redundant. Let whoever it is introduce themselves. Eliminate the middle man." Cruz sunk lower in his seat, "And whoever the person is, I hope they're not getting ahead of themselves with some fancy new ideas that ain't gonna fly."

Matthew smiled and looked back to the stage, "It'll be interesting anyway."

.

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* * *

"… I'm sorry, did you say 'interesting'?" Cruz asked in a low voice.

"Uhm…" Matthew blinked and raised his head, "I fell asleep, what did you say?"

"You just proved my point actually." Cruz smirked at the blonde and jabbed him in the shoulder, "Stay awake. If I have to, so do you."

"I'm not saying you can't sleep." Matthew sighed, but tried to focus on the stage again, where the principal was talking. The most he'd caught before he fell asleep was 'something something in my experience…'. _If you can't summarize it then… what's the point of listening to it?_

"Maybe this is part of the collective problem." Cruz commented, "No one has the patience to listen to this." He glanced around and found most students around them were either sleeping, as Matthew had been, or on their cell phones.

Matthew raised an eyebrow as he noticed the principal was looking around at the students closest to the stage, but had yet to make a comment about the people sleeping (or at least not that he had heard so far).

"… now, after all that, I ask of you all, who was listening?"

Matthew blinked and lifted his head again, "Eh?"

"Nobody?" Cruz whispered.

"Did I fall asleep again?" Matthew blinked a few times.

"I think you were about to." Cruz commented, giving him a grin.

"I say this to prove a point." The principal continued, "If you cannot listen to someone who has authority over you, how do you hope to listen to those around you?"

"Uh…" Matthew made a face, "This speech suddenly changed direction."

"He really needs to get warning signs for this." Cruz muttered, "We're about to go off the deep end aren't we?"

"I'm willing to bet that there is not one person in here who can tell me what I said five minutes into what I was saying. If you can't spend more than five minutes listening to someone on a stage, how can you spend two minutes listening to someone in the hallway?"

"Wh-where is this going?" Matthew whispered to Cruz, who was staring at the principal in disbelief.

"You're all teenagers." The principal made a waving motion with both hands, "You all have your groups of friends, some smaller or bigger than others… but tell me, how many people in here, in the last week, have actually spoken to someone new? You spoke to someone you've never spoken to before? Show of hands?"

"…" Matthew raised his hand, as did Cruz (though he looked rather annoyed at having to do so). While his hand was raised, the blonde glanced around, but found very little others had done the same. "I-is this it?"

"Well that's pathetic." Cruz commented.

"That's actually more than I was expecting." The principal commented, "Good for you all who raised your hands. The rest of you are either too scared to raise your hands for whatever reason, or you just believe in sticking with your normal group of friends. Either one is fine, it doesn't much matter. But while you are talking to your friends in the hallway, in the classroom, or even on the way home… how many of you notice the people around you? The ones _not_ in your circle?"

"…This conversation topic is getting rather uncomfortable." Matthew whispered.

"Yeah." Cruz scowled, "Going into the discomfort zone."

"Just think of your first class for instance. I know for a fact, that there are students in this school who have divorced or single parents, how many of you know someone in this auditorium now who does not have both parents to go home to after school?"

Matthew blinked for a few minutes. _Well… Arthur._ He raised his hand again and Cruz gave him a startled look, "Eh… I do know someone though. I haven't spoken to him, but even still…"

Cruz looked around, and found even fewer people had raised their hands, "… are we all supposed to know this stuff?"

The principal nodded in silence as he glanced around the room at the few hands that were raised, "Those of you with your hands raised, how many of you have single parents yourselves?"

Matthew's hand went back down again and watched around the room. Only a couple hands remained in the air. _…That's not very many._

"All students with single parents, raise your hands."

"…That's a hell of a lot more than hands were up before." Cruz glanced around the room in shock.

"Eh… I think we're really bad at noticing people around us." Matthew whispered.

"Again, proving my point." The principal gestured to the students in front of him who had their hands raised, "Some people are even sitting next to those with their hands up, that did not raise their hands when I asked who knew someone with single parents. This is what I meant. You have grown up in an environment that teaches you to stay inside your comfort zone. You grow up talking to the same people and never look beyond that. People of habit."

"… This is really bad." Matthew muttered.

"What does this have to do with our failed reputation?" Cruz grumbled.

"On a more serious note, how many students in here know someone who tried to take their life?" The principal looked around the room once more.

Matthew made a face as Cruz's jaw dropped, "What the hell kind of question is that?"

 _Uhm…_ He was sure Alfred's hand had gone up, but Cruz's hand remained down. _At least he didn't hear that about me._

"Now I can understand if you don't want to answer this, but how many people in here have actually tried?" The principal looked around the room once more.

Matthew spared a cautious glance around the room and was surprised to see more than a few hands go up. _Eh. Might as well._ He raised his hand as well, receiving a look of shock from Cruz.

"When was this?" Cruz continued staring at him in disbelief.

"Middle school?" Matthew shrugged, giving a sheepish smile.

Cruz stared at him for a minute before looking around the room again, "What the hell. Seriously? All these people?"

"Now _that_ is sad." The principal commented, "I can't even imagine how many more there are who just don't want to raise their hands. Nor do I want to know how many succeeded."

Matthew glanced around the room as it suddenly turned dead silent. _Ouch._

"Imagine for one minute, if all those students who just had their raised were not here. If everyone in this room who had tried had succeeded, how much smaller your class year would be."

Cruz made a face as Matthew slowly sunk in his seat. "This is unbelievable…"

"Out of… curiosity." The principal waved both arms again, "How many students in here… have been in the hospital for a serious affliction, self-caused or otherwise?"

Matthew sighed and put his hand back up again, "Might as well have just told us to keep our hands up."

Cruz scowled but raised his own hand.

"Eh." Matthew stared at him in shock, "Was it a fight?"

"Technically." Cruz grumbled.

The principal looked around the auditorium again, "I'm probably going to regret asking, but of those of you who do _not_ have your hands raised, take a look around you, and raise your hand if you knew about at least _one_ of these people."

Cruz grinned and waved at the students who had looked back at them, "I know you all didn't."

"A few people… so about half the room has their hands raised right now… your class year could have easily been half the size it is now. And none of you… would have noticed."

"Ouch." Cruz said flatly.

"… No one?" Matthew whispered.

"I can pretty much guarantee, that out of everyone that does not have their hand raised, you might have _wondered_ for about five minutes, but then the thought would have left your mind. Either with the assumption that they moved or transferred, but never would this thought have occurred to you. …Of the students who had their hands raised… how many of you can _honestly_ say that you are still here, because of the actions of someone else?"

Matthew folded both hands on his lap and glanced around the room, curious to see how many hands would go up.

"… kind of?" Cruz half-raised his hand, "Depends on which time you're referring to."

"Those of you who have your hands up, more than I expected again honestly, how many of you are here because of the actions of someone else, from the most recent time you were hospitalized?"

Cruz put his hand back down and shrugged, "That knocks me out."

"… That… put everyone out." Matthew glanced around the room.

The principal looked around the auditorium again, "This…" He motioned to the whole room, "Is not only disappointing… it's _sad_. Because that means of all of you who had your hands up, you did not have a friend to help you, and you didn't even have a family member."

Matthew sunk lower in his seat as Cruz shot him another look, "Neither did you." He muttered.

"I'm an only child." Cruz said flatly, "You have a twin."

"So I ask again, who would have noticed?" The principal gestured to the room once more, "Who can honestly stand up and tell me, you would have noticed that something was wrong?"

Silence echoed around the room, and Matthew saw the principal's face turn to the opposite side of the auditorium. The blonde could dimly see someone standing in the front row, "Eh. Someone stood up."

"Are you serious?" Cruz gaped in disbelief.

"Oh hello." The principal wandered over to that side of the stage, "And why would you have noticed?" He held the microphone out to the student.

"Because we're people of habit." The student said flatly, "I honestly could not tell you their names, but I could tell you their absence would be obvious. I pass the same people every day to classes. I know who to expect in the hallway while I'm walking, because they always stand at the same spot, with the same people, every day."

"… Someone actually noticed that?" Cruz whispered.

"He's really observant!" Matthew exclaimed quietly, "That's amazing!"

"Thank you." The principal nodded his head to the student and returned to the center of the stage, "So one student… one person out of this entire room, would have noticed. That is… sad."

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* * *

"That was… awful." Cruz said through gritted teeth as they were weaving their way through the hall.

"Talk about feeling like there's a weight on you…" Matthew sighed and looked around them as they were walking, "I mean… it's kind of worse when you realize that he was expecting those responses."

"Seriously, is he a principal with a major in psychology or something?" Cruz made a face, "And why say all that at the beginning of a school day?"

"Maybe he wanted us to think about it?" Matthew tilted his head.

"Yeah, sure. That speech will probably be gone from everyone's heads as soon as they're in class. We all have to pay attention to the inane lectures." Cruz rolled his eyes, "As awful as it sounds, I guarantee you, the majority of our class will have completely forgotten about it by the end of the day."

"… People of habit." Matthew whispered.

"And all the bad ones." Cruz grumbled.

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* * *

And so it begins…


End file.
